1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to telecommunications and, more particularly, to methods and systems for using different user identifiers for different types of communication sessions.
2. Description of Related Art
Increasingly, wireless service providers are providing users with access to packet-switched networks, such as the Internet, in addition to circuit-switched voice calls. Moreover, users may engage in different kinds of communication sessions over the packet-switched network. For example, a user may be able engage in Web browsing sessions or in real-time media sessions, such as “push-to-talk” (PTT) sessions. These different types of communication sessions may place differing demands on network resources, may result in differing levels of interest in different types of users, and may be marketed in different ways. As a result, it may be desirable for a wireless service provider to use different criteria to calculate charges for different types of communication sessions. For example, a wireless service provider may charge based on air time or the amount of data transferred for certain types of communications sessions but may charge a flat rate for other types of communications sessions.
However, in third-generation (3G) wireless communication networks, charges to users are typically calculated based on information contained in Usage Data Records (UDRs), which are generated by packet data serving nodes (PDSNs) and stored by accounting servers. The format of such UDRs is specified in “Wireless IP Network Standard,” 3GPP2 P.S0001-A. As set forth in that standard, a UDR identifies the user by a network access identifier (NAI) and may include other information such as connect time information and the amount of data transferred. However, the UDR format does not provide an identification of the type of communication session.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide information regarding the type of communication sessions a user engages in, for billing or other purposes.